I went to Warsaw, for a glorious six days. I ran the Warsaw Half Marathon with two Polish friends.

The weather was sunny but cold. The atmosphere and race organisation were great. The Half had been renamed as the Peace Half, post the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Poland’s support for Ukraine was evident everywhere you looked. The Blue and Yellow highly visible… on buses; trams; bridges over the Vistula; apartments; shops; statues. The Spartan Army (Charity for Children) ran the Half as a phalanx, with the Ukrainian flags on their spears. Refugees have free access to transport; museums; galleries etc. Sporting Arenas and Stadiums across the City are being used to help shelter / feed / inform refugees. My friend was hosting two refugees at her house. Train stations were remarkably busy.

I flew into Warsaw Modlin airport via Ryanair on the Saturday.  I was picked up from the airport (35 mins drive to Warsaw). My friend had collected the race number… 2000, for me 😊 at the Expo. I sampled wonderful Polish hospitality that night, before finding my apartment sometime after midnight. I was delighted with my modern Studio apartment at €60/night.

I set off at 07:00 the next morning for the 6k journey to the start. Buses etc were free for all race participants.  I hopped on a bus and then walked the last 2k by way of exploration of the beautiful Old town. I had a pre-race coffee, with friend, in a wonderful little coffee bar. The cake /bakery selection in Warsaw is great… and soo cheap.

The race started at 9. There were about 10,000 of us sandwiched (in a spacious manner), between the banks of the River Vistula and the beautiful Old Town. Then sun was out, but it was very cold. There is a great sense of space in Warsaw. I did not see many cars. Many roads are like Parisian style avenues; there are many pedestrian areas; there are beautiful Old Italian-like squares.

The course is flat and gives a good overview of the more modern parts of the city, as it criss-crosses the Vistula. The banks of the River Vistula are worth exploring, if one has the time… trails and beaches on one side; cafes and museums on the other. It makes a lovely 10k run up one side of the Vistula, and back down the other. We passed the Citadel; the national football stadium; many parks etc. The day got hotter as we progressed, and my light jacket, gloves and hat were soon discarded.

Support was good and there were bands playing along the route. Water, Isotonic drinks and bananas were readily available. I ran with my friends and had some ‘race-speed’ in reserve. This allowed me to absorb the atmosphere and look around… which I thoroughly enjoyed. We crossed the line in 2:06:48. The winning time was an amazing 01:00:30 for the Men, and 01:08:55 for the Women.

Nice medal and great technical t-shirt at the finish… along with some pasta-laden soup.

Warsaw has an excellent network of bike lanes, separated from cars. I used the Veturilo city bikes app. Nice and cheap to use. Over 200 bike locations across Warsaw. I explored by bike and foot, a large area of Warsaw and it’s suburbs. I also got an insight into how some of the locals lived via 3 different households and homes. I loved the many suburban bakeries and cheap lunches. In town, the Milk Bars are seriously amazing value for traditional, basic food. Prices in general are 50-67% of Dublin prices. English is fairly widely spoken. There are good view from the Stalin gift ‘Palace of Culture’ building (€5).

I will happily return. I enjoyed the mix of old and new; space and high-rise blocks; the people and hospitality. I still have the museums and galleries etc to explore. I’d recommend the Warsaw marathon / half-marathon. An enjoyable, well organised, fast course, and a city with plenty to do. Some of you are familiar with the Wicklow Ecotrail. Ecotrail comes to Warsaw in September. I have it on good authority that the routes (especially the longer ones) are fab. I am seriously considering this 😊.

https://polmaratonwarszawski.com/en/bez-kategorii/official-video-of-the-warsaw-peace-half-marathon/

https://warsaw.ecotrail.com/en

I hadn’t planned on running a half marathon in Mullingar on St. Patricks Day. I had intended on running the Bohermeen half the previous weekend, but fate had other ideas when I ended up unwell the week before and after not eating for two days, decided running a half might not be the smartest thing to do, so gave it a miss.

Despite a good session at training on the Thursday, I felt off all that week and even missed my weekend run. I’m planning on running the Berlin half in April and was worried that might be at risk also. Fortunately, I recovered by last Monday and headed out early before work, managing 16km and restoring my confidence that I could still run!  Had I known I’d be running in Mullingar on Thursday I might not have done that, but my plan had been to head to Waterford to family for the long weekend. Fate intervened again though as my parents were struck down with Covid (they are fine now) which meant we couldn’t visit them.

What would we do for the long weekend now? A bit of research later and I saw there was a half marathon still open for registrations in Mullingar on St. Patricks Day. I quickly signed up for it and on Thursday morning we set off bright and early for the AON Mullingar Half Marathon and a midlands adventure!

I’m not sure I’d ever been to Mullingar before. On arrival I was struck by what a handsome town it was. It was also a lovely morning, with bright sun and a great buzz around with the race starting right in the town centre. I collected my race number, did a little warm up and headed to the start line.  I had notions of running with a pacer. I saw the 1 hour 30 minutes and 1 hour 40 minutes balloons but discounted them as too fast for me. I was kind of thinking I’d aim for 1 hour 50, but couldn’t see a pacer for that time, so just decided to go at my own pace and see how I felt.

Off we went, right on time at 10am, I didn’t look at my watch, just ran. We turned left at the top of the town, heading out towards countryside, initially on main roads and then around 3km in we turned off and onto country roads and then boreens. I don’t know any areas around Mullingar so can’t say where we were, but it was a very pretty area to run in and the spring heat and sun felt great. I finally looked at my watch around 8km in and realised I was going at a decent pace for me and that if I kept it up, I would be under 1 hr 45 minutes. I decided to make that my goal then.

The route for those that do know Mullingar

Around 11km in I was running behind a small group and felt like there was no one behind me…I wondered if this race was full of fast people and if I was last. I looked around, lost my footing and nearly went flying. From the gasps behind as people saw me stumble, I knew I wasn’t last and got back on track! That will teach me to always look ahead in future and not worry about what’s behind me!

Just over 12km into the race there was a serious test, a steep climb up a flyover. It was hard work and my pace never recovered from it, slowing to around 5 minutes per kilometre, I think partly because I knew that was all I needed to make the 1 hour 45 minutes. We seemed to be running back towards the town then, eventually coming to the Royal Canal.  Again, lovely scenery, but due to a combination of tired legs and the wind against us, I found the last 3km tough going. I also really felt like I was running out of fuel and my 6am muesli and banana seemed an awful long time ago. I have to admit, about 19km in I walked for a bit – no idea how long, could have been a minute, and only for a few runners coming past and encouraging me to keep at it and to run with them, that we were nearly there, I might have kept walking. I got energy from their support and picked up my pace again. Before I knew it, we were into the last 500m and the crowd was great for that last bit to get over the line.

The race was won by Stephen Conroy (1:10:38), 2nd was Mark McPaul (1:11:22) and 3rd was Timmy Murphy (1:11:47).  The women’s race was won by Elizabeth Carr (1:19:56), 2nd was Amy Pollman Daamen (1:25:06) and 3rd was Miranda Spencer (1:28:23). All the results are available here: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/aon_mullingar_half_marathon/4250/results

Overall, I would recommend the Aon Mullingar Half. While not completely flat, its pretty nice, a beautiful setting, and it’s one big loop. There was a great atmosphere in the finish area and all around the town, with music and entertainment for St. Patricks Day also.

I finished in 1:43:19, which is faster than I thought I was capable of and definitely helps my confidence for the Berlin Half next month – although I’ve made a bit of an error with my registration for that and been too conservative with my expected finish time, registering it as 2 hours so I’m in a late wave. Maybe that will be one to just enjoy and take in the sights!

Nerves were high as we all checked weather reports on Saturday evening. Questions of whether the rain would hold off, where would we park, and most importantly, where would we go for coffee and a scone when it was all over?

Sportsworlders hit the road to Bohermeen, Co. Meath on Sunday morning. The sun was shining and the grey clouds didn’t look too eerie. As we parked up in the grassy fields, there was lots of excitement as the countdown was finally on. At 11am, lots of smiling faces lined up waiting for the gun to sound and at 11.05, the fun began.

The conditions on the day made for an exciting event. No sign of rain until the race was over, the sun peeked through on occasion, and apart from the crosswinds on the motorway flyover, the force of the wind was kept to a minimum. The course itself was enjoyable, no steep inclines, all gradual, and just enough of a decline to catch your breath before the next slope. The Sportsworld gang was out in force and represented in style!

Paul Hamilton was the first Sportsworld man over the line in a time of 1:24:47 and Deirdre O’Connell was the first female Sportsworlder with a time of 1:31:03. Some incredible running across the board with all race times, according to My Run Results, listed below.

Bodies were tired but we made it the end. Bananas, oranges, and crisps were welcomed at the finish line, followed by a well-deserved cuppa, scone, and even some chocolate cake found along the way home (once everyone managed to get their cars towed out of the wet, mucky fields).

A huge congratulations to everyone that took part. It was by no means a small feat and the first big hurdle in the long distance running for the club this year. It was my first official half marathon and I cannot give enough credit to the support of the club, and all the running crew that got me through the long runs in Phoenix Park. You’re a motivational bunch!!

Well done everyone!!

Having participated in the previous NIA meeting in February, very green, wearing my asics trainers which had been destroyed at the XC nationals in Cork & with no clue how to use the blocks I really felt I had unfinished business.

It was Conor’s Day” …. NIA Live, 16th February 2022

Having to work in Blanchardstown has to have some advantages. I never found any until tonight, and my proximity to the National Indoor Arena, to participate in the second NIA indoor live series of the year, and my debut.

Myself and Ms Ginty had a great night with race director Dave Mathews down in a pub in Dingle years ago after the half marathon, and this sowed the seed for our attendance on a blustery, storm-force February night, about 5 years later.

I knew a few Sportsworlders were due to run, and indeed all five of us had also competed in the National Cross Country on Sunday. But two of us didn’t get the footwear memo and wore the same mucky, clunky road runners that were destroyed in the Castlelyons Glastonbury style tented village. It turns out, you wear spikes indoors. Doh’!

My event was up first, the 400m, and it was great fun. The race director insisted I use the traps/blocks to start, and reminded me a few times that I was using them wrong. ! Turns out not all tracks are 400m, and thankfully race director also told me it was two laps of this loop. Against all coaching advice, I ran out hard, then blew up. I finished third of three in my heat AND last in the entire event. A fine debut.

Adam Furlong was up next for his debut indoor 400m. Despite finishing third of three, he started well by making it out of the blocks at all! Though also last in this heat, when your warm-up includes strides with Olympian Mark English, the result never really matters.

Blazing Conor Cavanagh returned to the Arena having posted a club record on his debut appearance last month. Conor battled in the last 100m to win his heat in an incredible time of 2.07s. It’s a great watch on youtube, and we agreed with commentator Dave Mathews, “It was Conor’s day!’

Katie Nugent put in such an impressive effort in her 1500m to clock a time of 5.40s. Her sister Siobhan was there to cheer her on.

And last up, and indeed up from Tipperary for the challenge, Conor Keating sped home in 4.34s in his 1500m, coming second and securing a Sportsworld indoor track record. Well done Conor!

It was so lovely to meet Anne Sweeney and family in the grandstand, cheering on Carla, who was 2nd in the final heat of the women’s 800 with an incredible time of 2.07s. Eh, Anne, the apple hasn’t fallen far from the tree! Let’s race Conor C versus Carla next time!

In all, it was great to experience the National Arena, running on this impressive track with the buzz and energy of the NIA Live crowd.

Hopefully this infamous metallic throat burn will be gone in the morning!

Congratulations to Nice Griggs who set a a new Irish 1500m Junior record 💥⏱3:43:72

Beautiful and picturesque Castlelyons situated in the valley of the River Bride in Co Cork was the location for the 2022 Masters and Intermediate National Championships. This was an eagerly anticipated event after last years race was cancelled due to Covid.

The intro here is written by myself (spectator) Gareth Murran whilst we have a detailed first-hand report from Maria Jones who ran in the M35 race, finishing an impressive 12th.

From early morning all manner of vehicles could be seen making their way to the small hamlet, just north of the main city stronghold in the people’s republic.

Even the more seasoned club Masters runners have a love-hate affair with the Nationals because it usually involves months of hardship running up and down hills in Phoenix Park. Emily loves turning up the heat every week, till you think you can’t take it anymore.

Just when you think you are home and dry and the training is done, you realise that you have to get on a bus for 4 hours, stop in 3 Apple Greens (Not even a Plaza) on the way to a muddy field in Cork of all places.

On long bus journeys, you might have to ask several people before you get someone interested in talking with you—that’s okay. Be okay with rejection, or seek it out. It’s all just practice, after all.

Keep track of what sports are played during which seasons—such as football, soccer, GAA, and golf—so you are on top of the current action. The Olympics are always a good option if they are taking place as everyone is sure to be buzzing about them. If your conversation partner supports a rival team, focus on trash-talking their favourites. The Cork-Tipperary rivalry is a good place to start and makes for lasting friendships.

After getting off the bus at these events the very first thing you’ll notice will be the big muddy field, looming thunderstorms and hills that make Carrantuohill look like a walk around your 2K local. As Milton Erickson wisely observed though, when you are in a garden you can appreciate the flowers or just focus on the weeds!

If you measure success by effort and doing your best, then it is always in your hands to succeed, and succeed we did on Sunday! We had many reasons to be proud of ourselves before the racing even got started in Castlelyons. Teams in every race, a good mix of old and new gullible runners, a great mix of guys and dolls, realistic medal hopes and great club support on the party bus.

XC is a flame you must hold close to your skin, to see how much pain you can stand before running to the water. The muddier the course the sooner those brows will be singed off. My rules of XC would be 1. Life is not fair. 2. The goalposts move. 3. There are no guarantees.

At Nationals the kids run first. Now they don’t weigh too much so the course stays in pretty good condition but the race preceding the Master’s Women is the Under 19 Men and this is where things start taking a muddy turn. To a degree the U19 and Masters lads get to destroy the course, leaving the Intermediates to do battle in the mud as dusk sets in, and everone wants to beat the traffic home. I’ll take your encouragement but wipe your feet at my door.

Masters Women 

First up was the Master’s Women. The evergreen Noreen Brouder led out the Sportsworld challenge. Not far behind was Maria Jones who has been cross-training her way to XC success all year. The quality team included our finest runner in recent years Aoife O’Leary and running trivia obsessed Maura Ginty.

The women had to do two of the larger yellow laps with a field of 141. The course was relatively ok for the most part with just a few muddy patches. As battle go, this was the most exciting race of the day. With 4 runners so high up in the field the excitement was overwhelming at times. As the second lap was drawing to a close Noreen and Maria were both looking super strong and not far behind Maura and Aoife were pushing each other on.

Adding to the day was the return of Lucy Darcy and fine runs from Kimberley, Marie, Valerie and Aileen. This race was the highlight of the day with the team taking 3rd and our top 2 getting silver medals with Dublin. Noreen also scored second place in her age category, take a bow. My vote for athlete of the year.

Olympian Lizzie Lee enjoyed a titanic battle with her Leevale clubmate Sinead O’Connor. Lee would go on to take the narrow victory, adding yet another team title to Leevale’s collection in the process. Barbara Cleary of Donore Harriers was in contention throughout and would run on to claim a well-deserved 3 places finish overall.

Insert Maria Jones 
Last race of the XC season, time to go out with a bang. The bus travelling from Bushy, picked me, the bould Elaine Kennedy and my mother dearest up in the Premier County en-route to Cork.

Time was ticking away waaaay too fast and we eventually pulled up in Castlelyons at 1.10 PM. A slightly panic-stricken Noreen and I scrambled for our bags and went tearing down the road in search of the field in which we would soon be running laps. Straight to the portaloos where we bumped into Ginty+Aoife, abandoned our bags randomly by a blue tent and off on our warmup and course inspection.

I was expecting the worst with all the forecasted rain the previous days but was pleasantly surprised with plenty of green grass in sight and a pretty flat course without too many bends and turns. (I can’t help using Clarrenbridge as the benchmark for all XC courses since 2018 so nothing can ever seem as bad as that).

Midway through our warm-up as we repeatedly said how lucky we were with the nice weather,  the heavens opened, soaking us to the bone. Drenched to the skin we made our way back to our bags and located the Sportsworld tent, now standing tall close to the start line.

Numbers pinned, spikes on, strides did and toe to the line, we were ready to go. The gun sounded and we were off, everyone sprinting for a position. The race settled and we found our rhythm as we set off on 2big laps, the 4000m that lay ahead.

To be honest, the race passed in a blur for me, I just stuck my head down, tried to keep a good position and run my race. When the going started to get tough on lap 2 and you wonder have you got another gear, I heard Myles shout out that I needed to move up now, Noreen was battling for 3rd position, and I had to get ahead of the few girls in my sight if we had any hope of a team prize. This was all the motivation I needed to start picking off a few more people in the hopes of that team medal that we so badly wanted. One last push and I managed to get past 3 more girls in the muddy home straight. I could do no more.

Noreen had battled hard upfront, mixing it with some of the big guns on the women’s racing scene around the country. She showed her class throughout finishing in a magnificent 6th place. I followed in in 12th position.

Now the countback was on to see where we stood in the team rankings. We tried to count the scorers from rival teams as they were crossing the finish line. Meanwhile, Aoife and Maura were working hard together to enter the home straight. Aoife running on an almost empty tank of iron showed her mental strength, pure grit and determination to get around the course. Most people in her position would never even of toed the line, but her team dedication and sheer class shone through coming home in 32nd place just ahead of team captain Maura Ginty in 34th. Ginty ran her socks off as she always does in the red+white, giving everything for her love of the club and her desire for team success. She has been paramount in keeping us motivated and reminding us how great it is to be part of a Sportsworld team, making the long journey from her beloved Mayo to the hills on the Munich Lap for the past few weekends to ensure she was in top form.

Kimberly Kennedy finishing off her first cross country season with the club, put in another great display coming home as the 5th over 35s scorer in 93rd place. Two places ahead of her were Lucy, who ran a blinder, leading the over 50s home. One minute I saw her dressed in her working gear running the show for my run results, the next thing she’s sporting the club singlet ready to attack the course, what a woman.

Hot on her heels and with two dodgy knees was Marie Bradley putting in a great performance in her home county to finish 2nd scorer on the over 50s team.

Val Power was next in giving it her all as she always does,  followed by Aileen Melody delighted cross country was done for another year, to complete the team.

We all headed back to the sports world tent, happy with our efforts but not too hopeful that a team prize was on the cards. As we were getting changed, dissecting our performances and what we could have done better, a text came through to Aoifes phone. WE GOT BRONZE!!!! Woohoo, screams+shouts and jumping around the tent like a scene from Semple Stadium on Munster final day. Job did, happy days!

We then had the pleasure of watching the rest of our clubmates race, as the course got muckier and muckier, all putting in great performances.

What I enjoyed about this cross country season is the team morale and comradery. That feeling of fighting for each other, and being part of more than just your result is very special. It’s been an honour to be part of such a great and encouraging group of ladies.

Shout out to Ann, Jean, Louise and a few others who were with us along the way to nationals but unfortunately were forced to drop out last minute due to injury or sickness. And poor Gareth who was on the sidelines cheering on unable to race after an unfortunate fall the day before while sightseeing in my beloved Tipperary.

Despite their missing members, the over 50s team placed 7th overall. Noreen also got individual silver for her age category.  And both Noreen and I secured a place on the Dublin team which finished 2nd.

Tent dissembled, brownies eaten (thanks Michael) and back to the bus, we headed. Val produced a pack of rubbish bags for all our mucky shoes and we headed on the journey home. We had a pitstop for some grub and well earn refreshments just outside Fermoy. Thanks to Marie Bradley for organising.

Finally back to Dublin just before 10, a long day but just enough time for a few sneaky drinks in Bradys where Gavin entertained us with talk of beetroot shots, caffeine loading, and cycling under the influence, ill say no more!

Special thanks to Emily, (ever enthusiastic, encouraging and our most important ladies team member), Paul and Myles for all the training, encouragement and support.

Until next year……

A great reort but don’t put down that morning coffee just yet, Next up were the Master’s men. Karol was the man to watch in the M40 category and Bruce Campell has been in flying form the past few months.

Masters Men 

As Maria mentioned the course was starting to look a bit soft but still very runnable, as myriads of Masters men charged out from the off. In XC you need to get a decent spot at the start and then steady the ship. If you overcook things in the first 500M the rest of the race will be painful. If you go too slow you can have 200 people to pass.

The men had 7K to run, which involved 3 large laps and one small. As the runners went by for the first time Karol was sitting in a great position near the top of the field. Everyone else in the red and white were sitting nicely and running well.

As the runners came around again two lads from East Cork had split the field wide open and the runners were very strung out. The speed of the breakaway resembled a track race, it was hugely impressive to observe. Running close to 3-minute kilometres on a relatively muddy course is no mean feat. The casual observer could see that this was a race of attrition. Each time the runners went past the increased effort was showing.

On the last lap Karol was holding on to a top 20 position, Paul was having another fantastic race, with Gavin having a strong  run in the mud and not far behind. The team in 8th included Michael Cunningham who finished in 89th position overall. Bruce in the M50 had finished in between Michael and Gavin, another top-class run. Also havings good runs were Kevin, Anthony, Joe And Adam. Adam has improved a huge amount is a great addition to the team. Hope he wears his trademark cravat to the club night out in March.

Deserving of particular mention were Liam Lenehan and Paul O’Beirne who have both had excellent performances in Leinsters and Nationals.

The men’s division looked ultra-competitive on paper but Tim O’Donoghue (East Cork A.C.) didn’t read the script, powering away to take the men’s title in what was a seriously deep field. O’Donoghue finished over 20 seconds ahead of the ever consistent Sergiu Ciobanu (Clonliffe Harriers AC) who is sure to have felt his exploits at the ECCC Cross Country in Portugal last weekend.

Intermediate Women

In the penultimate race, we had the Intermediate women. The smallest of our fields on the day but including heavy hitters such as Deirdre O’Connell, Katie Nugent and Elaine Kennedy, all running really well of late.

This race went out fast. Lauren Tinkler, who was part of the Irish U23 team at the European Cross Country Championships last December, showed all of her big race experience to take and hold the lead for the entire race, gun to tape.

The surprise package for me in this 5K race was Aoife Carroll. Aoife ran a well-paced race and showed great potential as a relative novice. Similarly, Deirdre and Fiona had good well paced runs and worked through the field. Katie and Elaine did well to work together, both picking up places on a fast last lap. EK impressively ran an XC race, finishing 5th just the weekend before but was too modest to write a race report. Th team finished 6th overall, a good day.

Insert Aoife Carroll 

February 13 th , the final race of the cross-country season and boy were we in for a treat (……NOT!!). Some thirty odd runners arrived to Bushy Park dressed in the Sportworld’s red and white. We then mounted the unintentionally matching red bus and set our sights on Castlelyons. The bus journey down was perhaps quieter than one would expect with everyone was trying to settle any nerves for the upcoming “battle” ahead.

We arrived in Castlelyons and I must admit, I regretted not bringing my wellies. The mud was up to our ankles as soon as we entered the gate and if the walkway was anything to go by, it was going to be a very slippery race. Nevertheless, we proudly pitched our Sportsworld marquee and got to warming up. The buzz at Castlelyons was something else, the nerves and excitement could be felt all around. Some of the best athletes from around the country had travelled down to compete, even Olympian Paul O’Donovan made an appearance despite there not being an oar in sight.

The Ladies Intermediate 5000m race was the second last race of the day and so the ground was nicely trampled for us. It was a daunting sight to see the mud puddles that lay ahead as we lined up on the start line. There were five ladies representing Sportsworld for the race. It was a spectacular race, with every step being carefully placed so as to not lose a spike in the troughs of mud. The race was gruelling, however, the Sportsworld women battled hard with Aoife Carroll bringing the team over the finish line with a time of 21:51. Soon followed Elaine Kennedy at 22:05, Katie Nugent at 22:09, Deirdre O’Connell at 22:17 and Fiona Cafferty at 23:21. Everyone put their all into the race and so massive congratulations is in order. A special shout out to Fiona for a great performance for
her first ever XC race.

A special thanks to everyone who came down and all the other runners who stood at the side-lines to cheer us on. The comradery and support was just fantastic and made the pain of cross country all worthwhile!!

Intermediate Men 

Lastly, it was the Intermediate men. I’ve taken out the ages so as not to expose any Masters age runners. They love the extra mud and few kilometres, who wouldn’t!

These lads had it tough. By the time the race had started, the course was a mud bath and I was feeling lonely at the end of the course. What if I forget someone’s name and had to shout ‘Come On Sportsworld’ for 8K (4 laps)? Luckily Paul had made an executive decision to stick everyone with the name Conor into the Intermediates.

The most impressive men’s XC runner of the season has been Conor Keating. Conor runs up and down the straight roads of Thurles daily. It’s paying off as he has had a hugely impressive run and was flying from the start on Sunday. Hot on his heels was the talented Timothy and Messrs Cavanagh and McCarthy.

All of the lads had their battles throughout the race. They are each progressing and improving fitness by pushing hard in each race. Cheers to Conor Cavanagh who asked how I was doing on his last lap, whilst I roared ‘cmon buoy’ in my faux East Cork accent. As the only red and white runner under 30, he’s set to challenge some club records in years to come. A great hope!

As the race progressed a smaller field than the Masters meant that the race was very strung out after just a lap. Brian, John and Karl were keeping close order on each other and helped one another to complete the tough 8K course.

Evan Fitzgerald (Clonmel A.C.) produced a brilliant display to take the men’s intermediate title. The Clonmel athlete was afforded the luxury of enjoying his winning performance on the run-in, having built up an over 20-second lead over rivals Jamie Fallon (Craghwell A.C.) and Eoin Smyth (Tara A.C.) who claimed silver and bronze respectively.

Leevale took the club honours, led home by Gavin O’Rourke in 4th. The Cork club also called upon the services of Tokyo 2020 gold medalist, Paul O’Donovan, who crossed the line in 34th. Our lads finished 8th.

I had great craic watching the races and catching up with some old friends. Despite not making the party bus I hear a great time was had by all with birthday cake, beer and deep heat freely passed about . Thanks to Marie Bradley for sorting the grub and Emily for the transport.

For me, the cross country season is represented fully in the cover photo of the race report. When there are hills, thick mud, and driving rain to run through, you can’t hide away from any weaknesses you may have. It is the purest form of running, there is no glamour, no PB times to get, oh, and no toilet roll!

The saturday morning cognitive dissonance put aside for another year, it’s time to set some new goals. A few indoor track races, maybe the national 10K or the road relays? With the grand auld stretch taking hold, the cold wet nights are coming to an end. Ah, Sure It’ll Be Grand in the end.

Thanks for all of the support and advice this year from Emil, Paul and Myles.

Distance:  9.09k      Climb: 322m      Terrain: Bog; Muck; Rocks; Rivers

Participants: Glenn Cahill (0:55:56); Tim Murphy, Race Reviewer (1:00:39); Eoin O’Brien, Photographer (1:02:23); Neil Purdy (1:04:38); Philip Kerr (1:05:18).

Race preparation – in the form of non-stop rain, started a full 16 hours before the civilised 11:00am race start the following Sunday morning. Thankfully, the rain cleared in time for the race start – and I spotted the ever-present and presentable Eoin; an ‘in the flesh’ version of Neil (thankfully, with more than his Budgie Smugglers on); and the Galant Glenn, who was to be our pacemaker for the day. Philip must have been doing his pre-race stretches somewhere. There was no sign of the ladies. Presumably, they had the smarts not to incur the wrath of Emily, Myles, and Paul by missing out on the XC Nationals in Cork. Karol won the last running of this race. He too, was quite rightly in Cork.

Anyway, the race starts (GAP – Glencullen Adventure Park) with a mad stampede (not unlike the cross country), before narrowing to a rocky technical, and steep climb up to Fairy Castle. Then comes the ‘boneshaker (in top form) down to the Ticknock aerial masts.  Much of this was a rock-strewn river that we were running in. The day had really cleared up by now. And the views were awesome… but mind your step! Then came the spin towards the coast, and back up via Two Rock. This was a pure muckfest, that would make a Cross Country runner weep (not sure if tears of joy or pain). Finally, a fast – turning to super fast final 2k, on trail, then grass/path.

There was a packed sandwich and crisps for all at the end. The raffle brought Eoin multiple prizes too. Race of the day award also went to Eoin. Eoin completed his 13^th IMRA race post Covid re-opening last June. This was his fastest race, relative to the winner’s time – whilst simultaneously taking photos. Philip has made it 3 races out of 3, for the Winter League this year. Neil has completed his usual annual quota of 1 IMRA race per year.

Another fab day out on the hills. IMRA Trooperstown Saturday 19 Feb 11:00, now open for registration. Irish Mountain Running Association (imra.ie)

Full results here Irish Mountain Running Association (imra.ie)

This year the 6th of February was a big day in Dungarvan, Co. Waterford, with the John Treacy 10 Mile, hosted by West Waterford AC, back for its 30th anniversary. I’d wanted to run this race for a while. It’s known to sell out every year and I set my alarm early the day entries went on sale to make sure I got one. Dungarvan is a super setting for a run, taking in stunning sea views out across Dungarvan Bay, as well as rolling green farmland, not to mention the view of the beautiful Comeragh mountains in the distance in the last part of the race. I may be biased (I grew up in Dungarvan) but I think it’s one of the most scenic settings in Ireland. And if that’s not enough, the event is also well known for its goodie bag. In normal times there are even refreshments put on in the town sports centre, but Covid prevented that this year unfortunately.

So back to the big day – I went out early Sunday to get my legs moving, walking around town, admiring the familiar sights. It was at this point I also realised the weather wasn’t ideal, with strong winds and light rain. My internal debate on what to wear started – jacket? long sleeves? I decided against them and settled on short sleeves and shorts – better to be a bit cold on the start line than cursing bringing layers over 10 miles. Then by chance as I was heading to the start, I bumped into fellow Sportsworlder Deirdre Durcan all wrapped up. She remarked I must be planning a fast race in the shorts…I wondered if I looked like I had ideas above my station, but it was too late to change, so I headed out to the start to warm up and was relieved to see plenty of other short wearers up there.

The atmosphere was great out the Youghal road, with people chatting and laughing as they warmed up. I looked around for Deirdre but didn’t spot her or any of the other Sportsworlders down for the race. I turned my focus to the start – I had no tactics planned, other than enjoy the race and not go too hard. I love pushing myself in a race, but as it was my first 10-mile, any time would be a PB. I still had last week’s Raheny 5 Mile (and that rogue 500m) in my legs and wanted to be fit for next week’s cross country. I remembered last Tuesday’s club session and Emily telling us to stick to short and sharp runs in preparation for the cross country. It crossed my mind a 10-mile road race might not have been what she meant.

Promptly at 11am we set off, starting on the Youghal Road, heading towards town, looping around Mitchell Street and back out the Youghal road until veering right at Déise Vets up an incline to the GSK roundabout. The first water station was here, with tetra pack water – better for the environment, but the design needs some work, I struggled to open it, then when I managed to get the top off the water went everywhere and it was impossible to drink from it while running.  Anyway, I dumped the water and we headed out the bypass, left at The Spring roundabout and out past the old glass factory. Then it was out to country roads I hadn’t been on since I was a young “wan” bombing around the place on my bike, past farmland and smells a Dublin runner doesn’t encounter much. I can’t remember much from about mile 3 to 8, I think I just settled into a pace and did a bit of daydreaming. I do remember the support along the way being fantastic, there were people in gardens and at every junction along the way offering words of encouragement.

In no time we arrived down at Ring cross for the last few kilometres back to town. With dismay I remembered cycling this road and it being an uphill slog. It had also started to rain, and the wind had picked up. Amazingly though I was feeling strong and even overtook a few groups on this stretch – all those XC sessions in the Phoenix Park paying off! There is a last horrible incline before the end of the race, but again I got past a few people and it was downhill then for the last few hundred metres, so I picked up my pace and sprinted to the end by Eurofins laboratories. We got our goodie bags here – after the let down in Raheny last week these were top notch, plenty of chocolate and treats and a nice Nike running top.

Olympian Aoife Cooke won the women’s race, breaking her own course record by 4 seconds. She won in an amazing 54:19. Hugh Armstrong of Ballina A.C. came first in the men’s race in 48:51.

I thought I might bump into some of the other Sportsworlders at the end but didn’t see anyone.  I did find their details in the results below. Impressive running in pretty strong winds at times.

I’d highly recommend this race to anyone looking for events a bit further afield. Dungarvan is a great town for a weekend trip, loads of great pubs and restaurants, near beaches, and hiking trails, not to mention the Waterford greenway. It’s really got it all and the race is great fun, a nice route and just a super atmosphere. I will definitely be back next year hoping to shave a few minutes off my 10-mile time!

The town

The Reward

Not my best look, but never let it be said I don’t give my all in a race!

The NIA Live events are held in winter through spring each year and offer a great variety of standards and distances for everyone to dip their toe into on the indoor track in Abbotstown. Race director and founder Dave Matthews sums up what to expect much more eloquently than I ever could “The Nia live nights are fun, fast and as competitive as you want, Our aim is to provide a best in class athletic experience for the competitors… Whether you are a fit4Life runner and want to try out a 1 mile indoors or an Olympic athlete there’s run or race for you on the programme”. On the menu last Wednesday evening was the 60m, 200m Masters, 400m, 800m and 1500m along with some Pole Vault and Shotput.

I signed up for the event after Michael recently encouraged me to give it a go. I was initially hoping to do the 800m but when I saw this was sold out half an hour after entries opened I settled for the 400m. I guess it’s the athletics equivalent of trying to get a Garth Brooks ticket and having to settle for a James Blunt one instead. Currently, the next event is waiting on Government Guidance which will (hopefully) mean that the evening can run until 9.30pm instead of 8pm. This will allow for an extra 125 athletes to run which will help alleviate some of the demand for entries.

The facilities in Abbotstown are really brilliant. The campus is a top-class outlet for Irish Sports and seeing it for the first time was very cool. I quite apprehensive in the run up to the race about how my own run might go. I spent the weekend before watching Youtube videos on how to use the blocks and trying to figure out what footwear was appropriate. Gareth had also told me about a metallic burning my lungs might feel from the indoor air (learned quickly enough this is a thing!). I was placed in Heat 2 and lane 3 of the 400m race. On the initial sign up, you enter a predicted time and entrants in this particular heat reckoned we would all be around the 60 second mark for 400m. We got about 2 minutes to set our blocks up on the track and the nice chap in the lane next to me gave me a quick crash course in how to do this and also how to use them. Once we were ready to go we were instructed to stand behind our blocks and then before we knew it we got the nod to settle down and wait for the gun.

I am not sure I got the block technique fully right but was happy to get up and not fall over. Once I found my feet there was a bend immediately in front of me which turned out to be tricky enough to navigate. On the first straight I managed to drive on and got myself into the lead before we met another bend. After this bend we met the tennisballs which indicate you can cut in to lane one with 250m left to run. This all felt a bit hectic but once this part was done things started to hurt a little and I had to dig in. I was happy to not feel my legs get too heavy as it meant I could keep my pace going before making a push for the line which I was happy to cross in 57.75s having set a goal of sub60 prior to the start of the race. The cross-country season has definitely helped me get a bit of strength in my legs.

The race was a great first experience on the indoor track for me. There was a very friendly community buzz. It was also great to see a couple of sub-elite athletes racing in the events after mine. For anyone thinking of giving it a go I cannot recommend the event enough and even getting the chance to run on the facility is a great opportunity but make sure to get your entry in early.

It’s Saturday 15^th January, the date for the Leinster Masters XC in Dunboyne.  The Cow Field in Dunboyne has been mentioned from time to time during long Sunday runs so I’m a little nervous about what lies ahead as I’ve never been there before.  The course is 4K rather than the usual 3K so an extra effort will be required to get over the finish line.  However, I’m telling myself that the most important goal in cross country is to support the team and finish no matter how tough the course is – race times are a bonus.

I pick up Eileen Rowland having been guided accurately to her home by google maps.  We head off and find ourselves being directed by Google maps to Dunboyne via Lucan?  As I drive through Lucan village Eileen is amused by the scenic route – I’m not in a position to comment as I’m completely lost.  However, we’ve loads of time to make a few errors as we left at 10.45am.  When we arrive in Dunboyne we can see the train station which is the designated parking spot but cannot find the entrance.  Our first attempt was to go down a road with tarmacadam on the left and right hand side and grass in the middle……clearly that wasn’t correct so we did a quick U turn and eventually found the correct entrance.

The Cow Field is a short walk from the station so we simply follow the crowd.  There’s a good buzz and a bit of banter with the other walkers as we make our way to the course.  As we enter we see a sign “Entrance Fee €5”.  The lady selling the tickets looks at us and says ‘I suppose you are running?” There’s a big laugh……why in the name of god would we be in a field in the country side unless we were running!

Eileen and myself walk the course and to my surprise it’s grand…..a few sections with long grass but otherwise the ground is relatively solid and the spikes will do their job and prevent runners from slipping.  We met up with the other Sportworlders who are gathering behind the Tullamore Harriers tent.  Emily is in great form and hands out the race numbers and safety pins.  She sends us off to do a warm up – her instructions are….”if you’re not sweating at the start line you haven’t done a proper warm up!!

We make our way to the start line for the 12.50 start time.  Teams are separated by corrals so Sportsworld picks one in the middle of the line…. it’s a good spot…..there’s a minute silence in memory of Aisling Murphy which is a very poignant moment….then the gun sounds and we’re off.

Maybe it’s just me but every time I’m in a race, any pre race plan is quickly forgotten and I just do what I can.  I never have time to check my watch and I simply listen for the beeps from my Garmin indicating the distance completed.  The extra 1k was really tough but at least the course is just 2 laps of the course.

Sportsworld has another great day with the F35+ team winning the silver medal.  There were fantastic personal performances from Noreen Brouder who came 3rd in the overall race and was the first sportsworlder to cross the line.  She was followed closely by Maria Jones, Aoife Brady O’Leary, Maura Ginty, Jean Wilson , Louise Jackman, Kimberley Kennedy and Martina Nolan-Jones.

Anne Sweeney leads the women’s 50+ team home with a fantastic run followed by myself and Val Lacey Power.

Eileen Rowland and Aileen Melody represented the 60+ group in style.  Eileen missed out on a bronze medal by 1 second….bad luck….Eileen has since identified the runner that pipped her at the finish line….I expect that will never happen again!!

There was a great buzz at the finish line and the usual feeling of utopia that one gets once a race is over kicked in.  As we changed behind the tent (no privacy!) I was smiling to myself – cross country is one of those sports that hasn’t benefit from modern comforts…..over 30 years ago when I ran cross country for my school we changed in similar conditions…..its as “raw” as ever.

As we changed Noreen Brouder was happy to give autographs to anybody who asked….Maria Jones was blushing because we heard her name over the loud speaker on a number of occasions during the race…..Aoife Brady O’Leary was denying rumours of a transfer request to leave Sportsworld to join Raheny Shamrock A.C. …..Maura Ginty had studied the form and competition and was answering any questions asked….Jean Wilson was giving me orthodontic tips and advising me to hang in as the 2.5 year inconvenience would be worth it….Louise Jackson was juggling babysitting with clothes changing and kept singing a version of the Jackson 5 song “Anne Marie I want you back”….(seemingly men have to do a pre-race warm up also!)….Anne Sweeney was waving her ‘bubble gum pink socks’ and telling everybody where they could be bought…..

Kimberley Kennedy had her head in her phone admiring the successful implementation of her race strategy of taking it easy for the first 2K and then pressing the boost button for the last 2K….Martina Nolan-Jones was looking forward to “the better part of her day” that commenced as soon as the race was over…Val Lacey-Power was no where to be seen….she was busy buying a hot chocolate drink that she had promised herself (she brought her own marsh mallows just in case that tradition didn’t exist in Dunboyne)….Eileen Rowland was highlighting the benefits of trek running shoes over spikes…..Aileen Melody was fulfilling her duty as Club Secretary by taking notes of the proceedings…..at least this motley crew had paid their subs so she didn’t have to tap our shoulder to give us a gentle reminder to pay up…..Emily was beaming from ear to ear as her girls hadn’t let her down !

After the race was over it was onto cheer leading duties….Maria Finnegan couldn’t be found to ask her for her pom poms so we just shouted louder….

And then it was home time…..we headed back to the car park and packed the car…..I sat in first and let Eileen finish her packing….I was in a hurry to get back to make my 4.30pm blow dry appointment so started the car and left in breakneck speed…..Mick Clohisey was in front of us so while I couldn’t beat him on the race course, I was certainly confident that I could give him a good challenge on the N3….. however red lights started flashing and there was a loud beeping sound….I stopped…..the passenger and drivers door were closed so no issue there…..I stepped outside and walked to the back of the car…..Look at what I found…..

And where were Eileen’s shoes?…….FORD….Found on Road Dead……!!

A big cheer also for the girls running in the Intermediate race. Katie Nugent ran a great race and was the first home followed by Deirdre O’Connell, Aoife Carroll, Sinead Staunton (who ran together for much of the race) and Majella Hayden.

I’ve no insight into their post race antics…….

Men’s Race Report by Paul O Beirne

This race was run with the tragic backdrop and national outpouring of emotion to the murder of Ashling Murphy, while she went for a run in Tullamore, and so it was fitting that a minute silence was observed prior to the commencement of the race –  Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam.